Lost Genesis
by A Quiet Dreamer
Summary: My first fanfic. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles set out to thwart another scheme by Dr. Ivo Robotnik that sends them to the lost TRUE beginning of their adventures. Inspired by the question "What if there was a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie?"
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing and I hope this is better formatted now.**

**Sonic the Hedgehog: Lost Genesis**

By: A Quiet Dreamer

**Prologue**

It was around midway through the afternoon on a warm day in July. A welcome breeze kept the many people of Station Square in relative comfort as they went about their busy schedules. In a large green park located near the city's heart, there was much activity as children of various species, though mostly human, frolicked and played with one another as only children are able- much to the distress of the more worrisome parents. Of course, adults have their own ideas of fun and so, in their own way, many grown ups were having revelries equal to those of the younger park-goers.

At a small wooden table resting beneath the cooling shade of a mighty elm sat two men playing a game of chess. The one nearer to the tree was of average height and build for a human living in the city. His jet-black hair hung straight down around his face and ended about three inches past his shoulders. He was Caucasian, though it was hard to tell from his deeply tanned skin, and had large hazel eyes above a somewhat crooked nose and a smiling mouth that showed a gap between his front teeth. He wore bright summer clothing though he was sitting on a red jacket with SSU adorning the back in bold black letters.

The other man was a few inches taller than the first and had a somewhat portly belly. His red-brown hair was fairly short and looked a little odd because it was combed over on the top to cover a small bald spot. He was a good deal paler than his companion with deep blue eyes, a small pointed nose, and a mouth full of perfectly straight and white teeth that shown in a large, dazzling grin that was framed by an even larger bushy brown mustache. His attire consisted of white, rubber gloves, a red lab coat, and black pants with two white buttons at the top. How he could wear such things in the heat of summer was a very good question for which no one could find an answer.

The former was losing spectacularly! He had no pieces remaining save his king which was in deep trouble indeed. Meanwhile, the latter had all but one pawn still on the board and was at that moment moving his king into a position two squares from his adversary's now-cornered-piece. His eyes lit up as that monstrous grin broadened to an inconceivable size and he declared his victory with a loud "Check mate!" His opponent still smiled as he stood and shook his friend's hand as this conclusion to their game was a foregone one, as had it always been and always would be.

_The Doctor is just too good_ _for me,_ he thought.

"My dear old friend, I must admit I fear the day is quickly approaching where you grow bored of constantly winning against me and so shall you leave in search of more competent challengers.", said the loser.

"Come now, John. I value our friendship more than anything and so will nev-"

Suddenly the air was rent by screaming as a small golden object plummeted out of the sky leaving a trail of energy in its wake. The scared park-goers ran to their loved ones and scattered to the edges of the park as the golden thing fell faster and faster until it crashed into the ground with a deafening boom that launched debris in every direction with the force of a cannon. As the smoke and dust began to settle around the newly formed crater, a flickering golden light could be seen coming from the hole. A few people began to creep toward it very cautiously including the two men who had just been playing chess.

The fatter man was the first to reach the hole. He gaped slightly as the small form within began to move, still flickering back and forth between a bright golden color and a deep blue. As it rose jerkily to its feet, the flashing began to dull down. It raised its small spiny head and showed two bright red eyes that, though clouded by what appeared to be immense pain, shown with an energy unlike anything the young man had ever before seen. The hedgehog flickered once more, from an awesome fiery-eyed golden godlike being to a simple green-eyed blue boy, and toppled over into the hole; unconscious.

Suddenly the world exploded in the young man's head! Colors, images, and ideas thundered past in a confusing blur of madness as time returned to find an old man in a bed awakening from a dream of his younger self. His self and…

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" spat the aged doctor. The name made his blood boil as he recalled all the trouble that spiky blue rodent had caused him. Dr. Ivo Robotnik arose from his bed and walked steadily to a wall that was little more than a huge window as he pondered the strange dream. He stared out of the window, scratching his bald head.

"What is the meaning behind this strange dream? I'm certain that it takes place approximately fifteen years ago, and yet Sonic- who could not be much older than that this year- comes crashing down from out of nowhere looking like hell… It makes no since at all…Why am I even bothered by it, though? After all, dreams are nothing more than sub-conscious manifestations of thoughts that were being conceived prior to being overtaken by unconsciousness. And given my latest brilliant plan to stop that blue bother once and for all, is the subject of my dream all that strange? And yet, something still seems off aboutit… So familiar… Almost as if… Bah! Who cares? My next plan will succeed and Sonic will be completely powerless to stop it!" roared the mad man as he left the room laughing maniacally.

The sun shown down from a clear blue sky; its light illuminating a large grassy plain far below on Earth. This was one of those rare places where "civilization" had not yet encroached on nature's beauty. The only exception was a long, metal track which rested on a bridge that was being suspended roughly twelve feet above the ground by large steel support beams that arose from the ground in pairs every twenty or so feet. The serene quiet of the valley was suddenly disturbed by a rattling sound caused by vibrations along the track that heralded the approach of a train. It was a new bullet train capable of incredible speeds. Incredible for most, that is.

On the thin guard rail on the outside of the suspension bridge ran a small blue hedgehog who was keeping up with the train without any difficulties whatsoever. There was a manic glow coming from his emerald green eyes as he thundered alongside the train; the wind blowing through his quills, keeping him cool in the hot July heat. A movement just above and to the left caught his eye. Looking over he saw a small red squirrel girl waving at him from inside the train.

He smirked, spun around, and started running backwards and waved back. She smiled and stuck a piece of paper to the window. It was a picture of a spiky, blue stick-figure running next to a long silver thing that was probably supposed to be a train on a long white bridge over a large green scribble and under a blue one with a yellow swirl in the middle. Sonic grinned and gave the young girl a thumbs-up to which she smiled more and clapped her little gloved paws.

Turning back around, Sonic saw a hill coming up, and a crazy idea took hold of the cerulean fur ball so, upon judging that the moment was right, he took a flying leap off the rail and curled up into a ball and was sent rolling down the side of the hill. At the foot of the hill, Sonic uncurled, pulled a hand-stand, somersaulted and hit the ground running.

The tall grass hid many large rocks, upheavals, and depressions which could easily have caused Sonic to have a fatal accident, but he didn't think about that. To him, there was no fun without danger and the more the better. He dodged and weaved his way between the obstacles at break neck speeds with no fear, only excitement the likes of which he could only ever feel on challenging runs. His heart began to race even faster as with a widening grin he spied a loop just ahead.

He picked up speed as it came closer and closer. And then he was on it, running upward in defiance of gravity, and then that strange yet exhilarating moment when he hung upside down at the top of the loop and time seemed to stand still. But it passed as soon as it came and Sonic found himself staring at the rapidly approaching ground which he was back on almost before he realized it.

There was an upheaval at the end of the loop that had not been noticed before, but it only made the hyperactive hedgehog happier as experience had taught him he could use it as a ramp if he jumped at the right time which he had gotten down to an art. Sonic flew through the air and felt a rush of pure joy as the wind whipped by him and he thought of the countless other times he had done this and the adventures he had usually been having at the time. Such thoughts led him to reminisce about his friends, whom he had not seen any of in over a month. And with that came the thought that the Mystic Ruins were only a few hours away at a steady pace.

The second his cool red running shoes touched the ground, Sonic was off having made a split-second decision to visit his little brother, Tails. There were dark clouds hanging in the sky on the horizon as Earth's hero raced off without a care. The irony of them would hit him hard later on…


	2. Chapter 1: A New Adventure

**Author's Note: This has been done for a while, but I haven't felt like uploading it for some reason. I appologize.**

**Sonic the Hedgehog: Lost Genesis**

By: A Quiet Dreamer

**Chapter 1: A New Adventure**

In a nearly pitch-black world of cold rain and slick mud, the flashes of lightning ricocheting through dark oppressive clouds in the evening sky were the only things lending light to the sodden Mystic Ruins. One such flash showed for the briefest of moments a small hill with a dome-like structure resting at its peak next to a larger silhouette that was more like a box in shape.

The dome had been constructed in the image of its sole occupant's head. It even had two large triangular protrusions sticking out of the sides of the roof in mimicry of the young fox's ears and small points jutting from the base like the longer fur on his muzzle. In day-light, the plain wooden door could be seen in place of a mouth just below and between the two elliptical windows that were made to be eyes above which were three curved protrusions sticking out of the roof just like his hair did. The attention to detail was staggering, especially from an eight-year-old.

Near the base of the hill, there was a momentary flicker of movement followed by a spray of mud that had been jerked out of the ground by the sheer speed at which a very disgruntled blue hedgehog was moving. Sonic's complaint was the weather which, while adding to the danger and therefore fun of his run, was cold and unpleasant. His feet kept slipping in the soggy mud forcing him to slow down to avoid a very messy injury or even death, which the low visibility had already done quite well. On top of that, his saturated fur felt heavy as it clung to his chilled, wet skin.

The annoyed Mobian skidded to a halt so as to turn and face the steps, but slipped and fell face-first in the muck with a wet smack. Sonic stood and wiped the mud off with a gloved paw then spat out a glob of the mess that had found its way into his mouth. He glared up at the sparking clouds that were too far away for him to see then sighed, resigned to just walk the rest of the way.

The steady, rhythmic pinging of raindrops splashing down onto the roof was a lullaby to the young fox as he sat curled up by the fire place, lost in the warm blaze. Just as consciousness began to say its farewells to the little genius, a player in nature's orchestra hit a sour note with a loud thump at the door. Tails leapt to his feet and ran to the door to see who could be visiting in this storm. It wasn't until he had already begun to turn the knob that the thought occurred that maybe he shouldn't open the door for someone he didn't know the identity of.

Just as Sonic reached the landing atop the stairs carved into the side of the hill, a loud shout split the suddenly quiet air and sent a chill down each of his spines as he recognized Tails's voice. Looking up to the smaller landing above him, he saw a strange, lumpy creature hunched over in the Tails's doorway. It was cloaked in mud distorting its shape somewhat, but Sonic could make out a long pointy tail and long tentacle-like things hanging down from what appeared to be its head. He could almost make out an arm in the gruesome mess with a large fist at the end which the creature was leaning on, but his thoughts stopped there as he saw his little buddy cowering in front of the monster, his sapphire eyes wide with fear, and growing more-so as the grotesque head began to raise, dragging the tentacles off the ground. Without a second's worth of hesitation, Sonic leapt at the horror that dared to threaten his little brother.

In an instant he was on top of it! The force of his attack caused the thing's arm to buckle and sent them rolling into the house. Tails managed to leap aside before they crashed into him, leaving the way clear for the combatants to roll snarling into the den, leaving behind a trail of muddy water with red and blue fur sticking out of it.

Sonic untangled himself from the creature and aimed a swift kick at its head, but it caught his foot in a vice-like grip and sent him flying into a wall with enough force to lodge many of his sharp spikes in it. With a grunt, Sonic pried himself off the wall, wrenching a good number of his spines out of their sockets in the process. His feet had scarcely touched the mud-covered floor before he was charging at the Herculean apparition which was trying to remove the mud from its face. The mighty beast roared when the super sonic hedgehog spin-dashed into its partially exposed red stomach, however the mud coating them both stopped Sonic's remaining spikes from piercing it. The thing grabbed Sonic in a massive bear hug as he tried to get away from it.

Sonic could hardly breathe and could hear a faint crunching and cracking coming from his backbone. With all the force he could manage, Sonic head-butted his opponent on its noggin. With a grunt of pain, it released him and fell backwards in a dazed stupor. It was only then that the hedgehog realized his mistake.

Enough mud had come off of the creature to reveal a white patch of fur shaped like a half of a ring on its chest. Also, Sonic could now clearly see one of its large, gloved hands which had two claw-like spikes protruding from the knuckle area. As if to further prove it, a chunk of mud slid off the semi-conscious echidna's head revealing his face.

"Knuckles is going to kill me when he wakes up," groaned Sonic.

The next morning found Sonic very much alive, though he was sporting a large bump on his head which his red echidna friend had given him the moment he regained consciousness about twenty minutes previously. Both Sonic and Knuckles were now crouched down on opposite wings of a blue bi-plane with "SONIC" painted in white on either side of the craft. Tails was fueling his beloved plane up and thought it best to make sure he had Knuckles' story straight, just one more time.

"So Eggman stole the Master Emerald?" he asked for the third time that morning. "What do you suppose he plans to do with it this time?"

"Who cares!?" growled the echidna through gritted teeth. "The point is that he did so we're going to get it back and make that fat oaf pay dearly for it!" The anger in his voice was more than a little scary; after all, Knux had never been one to make threats lightly. A quick glance at their friend later and both Sonic and Tails had decided that it would probably be best to stay quiet for a while. His entire body was quivering with barely suppressed rage and his eyes were narrowed to violet slits of malice.

Tails finished filling the fuel tank, got in his seat, turned the ignition key, and was greeted by the sound of the Tornado's engine rumbling to life. The brown-blond furred fox consulted various dials on the dashboard as he prepared for takeoff. When all was ready, he pressed a red button near the plane's Chaos Emerald radar and the runway began to angle upward as the shutters above them slid away revealing the light blue early morning sky.

"Ready, guys?" Tails called.

"Ready!" they responded in unison with Knuckles adding "I can faintly sense the Master Emerald's energy somewhere pretty far to the north-east of here."

All right! Here we go!" shouted the fox as the plane sped up and took off through the air, soaring far over the Sapphire Sea toward Dr. Robotnik and Master Emerald.

A good deal later in the day and very, very far to the north-east of Tails' home in the Mystic Ruins, a great amount of sneezing could be heard throughout the Egg Carrier X as it hovered stationary in the frigid air over the arctic wasteland of the North Pole. The source of the disturbance- Dr. Robotnik- was wrapped tightly in a large electric blanket and was soaking his feet in a small tub full of steaming water while sitting in his captain's chair in the cockpit of his flying battleship. After a bout of sneezes that knocked his sun glasses askew, the obese doctor gave vent to a low, guttural growl.

"Blast this infernal cold!" he snarled. "And blast the North Pole, too! If it hadn't been so ideally isolated, I would never have considered setting up shop here. And really, I should have been gone hours ago! If not for that malfunctioning sentry drone going haywire and firing its lasers at just about everything…" Robotnik shook his head; he was too angry for words.

The 'bot in question had been to close to the Master Emerald when it was installed in the doctor's newest project. Upon activation, the power surge emitted by the emerald scrambled the robot's programming and caused it to fly haphazardly, firing laser beams in all directions. And, of course, the other security drones moved in to stop the berserk machine and in the crossfire, the Gate was damaged all along its right side and partially buried under snow and ice blown off of neighboring glaciers.

"And for the grand finale, that capricious contraption had to go and explode close enough to my Eggmobile to send me hurtling into a mountain of snow!" grumbled Robotnik, followed by another tirade of sneezes. Then he looked up at a large monitor displaying an image of a gigantic metal ring on a wide platform that was stationed between two mountains of ice and had several robots flying about it trying to repair the damage and barked out "Status report!"

A computerized voice came from the speakers built into the monitor's sides "Gate Ring repairs at ninety-seven percent. Estimated completion time: two minutes, forty-three point seven seconds. All nonessential robots are currently being loaded into Egg Carrier model X."

The deranged scientist grinned and gave a low chuckle. In just over two-and-a-half minutes, Sonic's fate would be sealed and all of Earth's along with it. Unfortunately for Robotnik, an alarm suddenly began blaring in time to the flashing red emergency lights overhead. The alarms stopped as the monitor flickered then displayed an image of a small blue plane soaring over the arctic waters and glaciers accompanied by the computer voice.

"Intruders detected! Verified: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails the Fox, and Knuckles the Echidna. Distance: nine point three hundred, seventy four tenths of a mile and closing at four hundred, eighty miles per hour. Approximate arrival time: one minute, eight seconds."

"Curse those wretched rodents!" Robotnik thundered. "Why couldn't they have arrived just one minute later!? Scramble Jet Pawn Squad A! Double repair and loading speed! Prep Egg Carrier X for takeoff! Do it **NOW**!!!" He then pressed a few keys on a control panel to his left and looked at the computer screen which displayed his Gate Ring once more along with a timer.

Two minutes, twenty three seconds remaining.

"Tails, what's that big ring?" Sonic called over the roar of the engine.

"I don't know, Sonic, but I'd say Eggman needed the Master Emerald to power it so it's most likely dangerous and we should probably destroy it."

"Heads up, guys, we got company!" shouted Knuckles pointing at a number of small silver jet-like robots coming at them from Robotnik's ship.

"Alright! Finally some action!" yelled Sonic.

They were all flying so fast that the miles between the Tornado and the Jet Pawns were covered in just a few seconds. There were five of the Badniks, total. They looked like silver jets with Egg Pawns sticking out of their tops, between the top wings which bore Eggman's logo- a red circle made to look like a cartoon silhouette of his head with round white eyes and a semi-circular grin. The lower wings carried three missiles each on their undersides and from the noses of each craft jutted laser cannons just below robotic sensors made to look like eyes. The Pawns each manned machine guns. They were flying in a diamond formation with one in the lead, then three, then one at the rear. The lead Badnik accelerated, charging toward the Tornado.

The moment it was within range, the Jet Pawn was met by a barrage of machine gun fire, but was hardly even scratched by the bullets. With a frightened yelp, Tails pulled back on the controls and sent his plane upward, just barely avoiding the machination's retaliatory laser beam. What's more, the three middle jets had shot upward just before the Tornado and were peppering the bi-plane with a machine gun barrage of their own which was only narrowly avoided. And then, the heroes suddenly found themselves hurtling toward the fifth jet whose laser cannon was sparking to life.

"Tails, behind us!" yelled Knuckles who had glanced back and seen the first jet bearing down on them. Checking the rear view mirror, the fox made a split-second decision. The Tornado charged the 'bot that was seconds from firing its laser with the enemy behind them gaining rapidly and also charging its laser. At the last possible moment, Tails sent his plane into a dive and was rewarded with the sound of explosions above them as the Jet Pawns' lasers scoured holes through one another.

"Ha! Two down!" laughed Sonic, his eyes glowing with the light of battle. His jubilation was cut short, however, as the other three Badniks rammed into their bi-plane in quick succession. The first one hit them hard, snapping the left-hand wings in half and sending Sonic spinning toward the icy waters below. Luckily, it knocked them over enough to mostly avoid the second jet, though it still managed to destroy their landing gear. The last 'bot was more accurate, however, and snapped off the tail, sending the Tornado spiraling rapidly downward with Tails and Knuckles screaming.

The icy wind roared past them as they plummeted, deafening them to their screams. Struggling desperately against the G forces pinning him to his seat, Tails flipped three switches on the dashboard and pulled hard on the control stick while holding down a large red button. The emergency brakes flared to life and relieved enough just enough pressure for him to reach over and pull the leaver that caused the plane to change into its jet mode- though its broken and missing pieces caused it to fly crookedly.

The Tornado cut upward through a cloud and out the top then swerved to the right to avoid a blast of red energy from a nearby Jet Pawn. Tails angled the plane downward and trailed another barrage of machine gun fire along the silver Badnik. As before, the shots merely bounced off of the jet, but then they tore through the Egg Pawn with a vengeance. The Pawn exploded, ripping the jet apart from the inside. Tails and Knuckles whooped excitedly and dashed back down toward the two remaining Jet Pawns. Twelve missiles flared out from under the robots and shot through the sky toward the damaged plane.

"Tails, look!" shouted Knuckles. Following his friend's gaze, the fox saw that one of the missiles was moving a little slower and lower than the others and had a small blue thing dangling from it.

"Sonic!?"

He wasn't sure just how he felt about this one. One of Eggman's little machines had dived down low enough for him to grab hold of its landing gear before it returned to the fray. Sonic had then hoisted himself onto one of its missiles and was about to climb up on top of the wing when the rocket had suddenly blasted off with him just barely hanging on. Now he was a reluctant passenger on a ride hurtling toward his friends and set to explode somewhere miles above the Arctic Ocean. Things didn't look good. Then, he looked up and saw the Tornado angling toward him and Knuckles, now in the back seat, waving franticly.

"Got it!" he said, then began swinging back and forth on his end of the missile causing it to spin. After a few cycles, he released the rocket and flew toward the blue jet plane. The sudden jerk when Sonic let go of the missile caused its already unstable contents to explode, adding extra force to the hedgehog's flight. Time seemed to slow down considerably as he soared through the air toward the oncoming plane. It seemed that a million thoughts crossed his mind before it was over and he found himself landing hard on the nose of the Tornado. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, but then everything was suddenly moving normally again. He flattened his self and clung to the plane as Tails sent it on a wild, zigzagging course to avoid the other eleven missiles.

And then, after all the bombs had exploded, they were alone. Surprised, they all looked around with confused expressions, but couldn't locate either of the remaining Jet Pawns.

"Where'd those things get to?" Sonic wondered aloud.

"Muahahahaha!" came a sinister echoing laugh. "You're too late, mongrels! I've finally succeeded and you can't possibly stop me now! And to think, if you'd come only a minute sooner, you might have won! But you didn't and now your very existences are forfeit because of it! Goodbye! Muahahahaha!"

Looking off to their right, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles saw Eggman's flying ship moving into position in front of the giant ring which was glowing a myriad of colors on the inside. Then, with a great flash, the void inside the ring was filled with a swirling vortex of many shifting colors. In that instant, though none of them could say exactly why, all three of the Mobians felt a fear unlike any they had ever before experienced. It was paralyzing, absolute, and total. They knew that everything they knew and loved was now in danger. And then the Egg Carrier X began to move toward the portal.

"Tails!" Sonic screamed. The young fox turned his plane toward their fleeing adversary and floored it. They were going as fast as they possibly could, but there was no possible way for them to reach the Egg Carrier in time. The battle ship was halfway through already and they were only just under four miles away.

_Blast it all! Why?_ Sonic raged in his mind. And then the feeling came. It was a sort of sixth sense he had developed over the years. It pulled his eyes down from the nightmare in front of him to the nose of the jet. To the Chaos Emerald. _Of course!_

He reached for the mystical gem, one of Earth's eight greatest sources of power. It was hot. The energy pulsating from the emerald burned through his glove but did not hurt him. He had used its powers too many times before for that. It was his power to command. He had control.

"Chaos Control!" he cried. And suddenly the three of them were in the Chaos Space and time stood still around them. They flew to their target and alighted on its surface. Then Sonic released his hold on the emerald and they returned to their normal plane. The Egg Carrier X cruised through the Gate Ring with its master completely unaware that his enemies had hitched a ride.

And as the strange energies of the portal enveloped them, all sentient beings aboard experienced a strange feeling akin to but not the same as déjà vu…


	3. Chapter 2: Through the Gate

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Officially it has been 1 year, 1 hour, and 56 minutes since I first uploaded this story's prolouge. I am REALLY slow!**

**Sonic the Hedgehog: Lost Genesis**

By: A Quiet Dreamer

**Chapter 2: Through the Gate**

The familiarity was oppressive; so much so, in fact, that it took several seconds after clearing the iridescent vortex before Robotnik's stunned mind could register the blaring alarms and emergency lights all around him, and almost a minute more before he could even think to act. But the vacant stupor that often accompanies staring into eternity did pass and the voluminous doctor's ample body jiggled and wobbled gruesomely as maddened fury coursed wildly through him and he glared a killing glare at the large monitor before him.

"Those ridiculous, wretched rapscallions!!! How the devil did they-?! " boomed Robotnik before his anger grew to a level where he could only gasp and grunt inarticulate noises for a time. Then he grabbed hold of a nearby piloting robot, and spat out commands while shaking the machine like a ragdoll. "What the Hell are you waiting for!? Order all forces to the bridge, and kill those vermin!" He flung the 'bot away from him and gripped the arms of his chair with a crushing strength while scowling at the monitor.

Traveling through the Gate had left the Mobians similarly stupefied, but they recovered just as the robots came pouring out onto the deck in a deafening crescendo of metal crashing on metal. Predictably, Sonic was the first to react, leaping into the fray and then spin-dashing straight through three 'bots in a row, but neither of his friends was far behind. Knuckles grabbed hold of a Caterkiller and rushed into the robot storm, swinging it like a mace to devastating effect. Tails quickly slid a small panel aside on the Tornado's dashboard and pressed a small button then leapt from his seat and snatched up a small bag that came out of the plane's side as it transformed into its armored-walker Cyclone mode. The fox flew up above the crowd and rained his small homemade "Chu 2" bombs down into it as his machine stomped out into the melee, crushing many 'bots and shooting many others.

Sonic was lightning as he shot from one robot to another, dodging around their weaponry, crashing through their armor, and shattering their hardware in small, bright explosions. After a long string of homing attacks into several flying Badniks, the Hedgehog forced himself to shoot straight down into the crown of an Egg Knight, from which he unintentionally bounced into the Tornado's cockpit; the robot's explosion giving his flight some extra force. When he tried to stand up, he found that his leg had somehow become trapped between a couple metal bars that had penetrated into the plane's hull and stopped just short of piercing the control panel. He was trying to extricate his foot from the snare when a low buzzing noise above caused Sonic to look up. A Buzzbomber was swooping down at him, its stinger glowing with a red light.

Sonic's frenzied attempts at freeing his foot weren't working; they were making him sore more than anything else. The robotic bug began firing its lasers, which while not strong enough to kill, gave the hedgehog a number of small burns as well as more bruises from the leg-trap as he jerked about to dodge as best as he could. Then something fell on the Buzzbomber and it exploded. With a whirl of his bushy namesake, Tails alighted next to Sonic and helped him get his foot out from between the bars.

"Thanks, kid," said Sonic. "How you holding up?"

"I'm doing alright, Sonic, though I'm running out of bombs. There're too many of these Badniks running around up here."

"Tell me about it. Where's Knuckles gotten off t-ack!" Sonic was cut short as the Tornado gave out a loud screeching and grinding sound below them. Then, the Mobians were thrown into the wall as the plane-mech was heaved upward and swung around into the robotic scourge. Leaping from the makeshift club, Sonic and Tails flew out of range of the mech and saw that their friend –who, being the most involved in the fight, was considerably more banged-up and bruised than either of them- swinging the machine around by one of its legs. He was whirling across the deck like a tornado, smashing everything in his path as well as several things outside of it.

"Guess that answers that." mumbled Sonic.

"My plane!" whimpered Tails. "He's gone berserk!"

"Don't worry, bud, with all the scrap left over after this fight, you'll be able to rebuild the thing a hundred times. In the mean time, let's steer clear of Rad Red."

"Right, Sonic." responded the fox unenthusiastically. He then threw the Hedgehog down at an E-1000 before returning to bombing the battlefield.

Sonic made quick work of the 'bot, and then found himself in the shadow of a gigantic robot wielding a massive double-bladed ax. Nimbly dodging the titan's powerful swing that lodged its weapon in the deck, Sonic ran between its legs, spun around, and launched himself at its back with enough force to send the machination rolling across the blade of its ax and into a hole made by some explosion earlier on. An electrical surge shot through the hole for an unknown reason and fried the colossus' circuitry causing it to explode and widen the crevice.

Looking about, Sonic saw that they'd destroyed quite a few 'bots, but more were still spewing out from hatches all along the deck. Tails had run out of bombs and was down on the deck fighting tooth and claw against the robotic hoard, and Knuckles had discarded the Tornado somewhere amongst the scrap and was using his tried and true punches. However, they were both getting tired. Their speed was dropping and their attacks were becoming less accurate and powerful. They were also taking many more hits than they had been earlier on. It all made Sonic realize that he was getting worn out too. Doc 'Botnik didn't usually send so many Badniks out at once. This needed to end now.

The hedgehog leapt into the air and began to spin rapidly, rotating faster and faster until he actually hovered in place. Then he summoned up the Ancient Light -a strange energy he had found and somehow absorbed during a previous adventure- from deep within himself and began to glow a bright blue color as he pulled in the invisible energies around him. He spun even faster and glowed even brighter until all-at-once he simply vanished. Instantly, every robot on the deck exploded simultaneously. Though the fires and smoke hid him from his friends' view, Sonic rematerialized near the edge of the battleship.

Unfortunately, he had reappeared facing toward the edge, and he hadn't quite stopped moving before he shifted back to normal. On top of this, his body always locked-up for a moment after using the Light Speed Attack as it readjusted to being solid, so Sonic was helplessly propelled by his own momentum over the side of the Egg Carrier to plummet down, down, down to the earth so far below. Sonic blacked out.

"Are you alright, sir? Can you hear me?" came a distant and muted voice.

…_Wha-? Who? …_

"Oh! You ARE alive. Thank goodness. That was some kind of fall." The voice was clearer now.

_Fall…? I fell? ... Oh, yeah…_

"You sure are lucky, sir. I thought you might have died." The voice was clearer still, tinged with worry, and vaguely familiar.

_Died? Me? No way! It's not the first time I went sky-diving without a 'chute… Oh!_

Suddenly Sonic came back into full consciousness and remembered what had happened. Abruptly bolting upright, the Hedgehog smacked his head into something with a dull thump and a voice yelping in surprise and pain. He grunted through a grimace and squinted his eyes while holding his throbbing forehead, trying to clear his swimming vision. After a moment, everything came into focus and he found himself looking at a rabbit girl a few inches taller than he was. Despite her height, he thought she was his young friend, Cream, for just a moment.

The resemblance was most uncanny; almost as if they were two versions of the same girl. This girl's creamy fur was only a few shades lighter than Cream's and it even had darker patches in the same places, though this rabbit's patches were a rich golden-brown whereas Cream's were more of a russet color. Also, this girl had short blond bangs which Cream lacked, and her red dress looked more expensive as it was intricately embroidered with an elaborate golden design and appeared to be made of higher quality fabric. Aside from these things and the fact that she was clearly older than Sonic's friend, this rabbit was Cream in every detail; even her big, golden eyes and the shy smile she gave Sonic as he stared at her. Then, realizing what he was doing, Sonic hurriedly looked away mumbling an embarrassed apology.

Taking in his surroundings for the first time, Sonic was surprised as he saw well-tended flowers and trees around him instead of the bleak frozen wasteland he would have expected if he'd had the time to think about it. There were rows of tall hedges dotted with a variety of flowers, though predominantly violets, and from which rose up slender trees whose branches intertwined to form a leafy canopy overhead through which the sunlight shown down in miniscule radiant drops like diamonds growing on the branches. Looking up, Sonic saw a hole in the greenery above him and became aware of the broken limbs underneath and around him.

"So, are you alright then, mister hedgehog?" asked a gentle voice that startled Sonic out of his reverie. The rabbit was right beside him now. She took hold of his gloved paw, concern showing clearly on her face, and asked "Nothing's broken, is it?"

"Nah, I'm fine." replied the hedgie, that iconic grin spreading across his face. "But don't call me 'mister hedgehog', okay? My name is Sonic; Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Pleased to meet you, mister Sonic! My name is Vanilla Rabbit." said Vanilla with a curtsy. She didn't seem to notice the bewildered look that crossed Sonic's face. "You're quite lucky, you know?" she continued blithely. "I was just about to gather up those Rings when you came crashing down into my orchard. Though I really must ask just what were you doing falling out of the sky like that? Hedgehogs do not fly, you know?"

"Ah…? Right… Um, Vanilla?" said Sonic. "My buds and I were fighting with old-man Robuttnik's machines up on one of his flying ships. I kinda slipped up and fell overboard, so here I am."

"Oh, um… How…intrepid." said she with a vacant expression that said all-too-well that she hadn't really understood a word of it and wasn't overly interested, but was trying to be polite.

A quiet moment followed this exchange. A soft wind rustled through the trees and bore the scuttling and scratching noises of some small bug through the orchard. The light musical chirping of a flock of Flickies could be heard in the distance. Nature's relaxing sounds abounded, but they did little for the hedgehog, whose mind was busy trying to make sense of his current situation.

He wasn't at the North Pole; Eggman's weird ring-thing was probably to blame there. He wasn't dead after an unimaginable fall, though Vanilla had said he'd landed in a Ring cluster, so that explained that. _Useful things, Rings_, Sonic thought. _No wonder people started using them as money at some point. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, Vanilla._

She confused him more than anything else right now. Sonic hadn't actually met Cream's mom on too many occasions beforehand, so he hadn't immediately thought of her. While this rabbit girl was a nearly perfect match for Cream, she was an even more perfect match for Cream's mother- _whose name just happens to be Vanilla_, Sonic added to himself somewhat sardonically. The only difference here seemed to be age. This girl looked just like a picture the hedgehog had once seen of a teenage Vanilla on one of his rare visits to her house, right down to the "ladylike" poise and grace that this rabbit exuded.

Ah, whatever! He'd just have to work that one out later.

"Hey, where are we anyway?" Sonic asked.

"Well, we are currently in the Southern Archipelago, on one of the southern-most islands known as South Island. In all actuality, there are two islands named South Island because they were supposedly connected thousands of years ago, before some kind of catastrophic event. You know, there's an old fairy tale about a floating island that ties in to that. I could tell it to you if you wanted?"

"I've heard it, thanks."

"Oh, well that's a pity. It is a fun story! But where was I? Oh, yes. We're on the western edge of the eastern South Island; right outside of the Neo Green Hill Zone. That zone is named after a place on the western South Island. You know, that's another good story if you're interested?" she asked hopefully. Vanilla seemed to be in a story-telling mood.

"No, thank you." said Sonic with a placating smile. "Some other time, maybe."

Vanilla frowned, but nodded.

"So anyway, Radical City is the nearest town from here, right?" Sonic asked; more to change the subject than anything else.

"Yes. I live there, actually. I should probably be getting back home now that I think about it, or else Mother and Father will worry about me."

"Well then," said Sonic, leaping to his feet, "how's about I escort you home to make up for taking your Rings like that?"

"Why thank you, mister Sonic. That would be lovely!" Vanilla said, accepting his gloveless paw.

She had no sooner than gotten to her feet than she found herself being hoisted up into Sonic's arms. He grinned wickedly before telling her to hang on, and then they shot from the orchard faster than the speed of sound.

The sun was drooping down over the horizon, but the excitement was still going strong throughout the city. Festive music played all around and everyone seemed to be partying it up big time. Sonic hadn't really been able to enjoy himself and see the sights last time he was here due to some really strange things that had happened because of one of Eggman's crazy schemes. Of course the Mobian now knew that equally strange things were going on now due to another of the doc's plans, so Sonic wasn't counting on having a fun time now either. Things had stopped being fun hours ago back in Radical City.

It hadn't taken him long to "escort" Vanilla home. The look on her face afterwards had been priceless. However, Sonic's amusement had begun to fade soon after when he stopped by a public TV monitor. The news had been on; nothing new or interesting. It wasn't the news that had thrown the azure hedgehog for a loop, though. It had been something else. He hadn't believed it at first.

Sonic had then spent hours racing across the South Islands, checking out many places he'd been during his adventures. He'd been searching for anything that could deny what he'd seen on the television, but it was in vain. After a while, he'd just had to accept it and decide what to do next. Thus, Sonic hopped a boat to the mainland and dashed across the continent until he reached his current location. Hopefully, he could get some help here.

He came to a large estate and rang the doorbell a couple times. After a moment, he was greeted by a lanky young human with short reddish-brown hair. He had a cucumber sandwich on a small plate in his right hand.

"Can I help you?" he asked somewhat hurriedly. He glanced back over his shoulder distractedly.

"Yeah, I'm here to see the Professor. Is he in?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid Professor Pickle is rather busy right now, so maybe you could come back later if it's not too important?"

"Sorry, but it **is** too important." Sonic said.

"Oh, very well then." the assistant said with a sigh. "Just don't touch anything. Some of the Professor's possessions are quite fragile." The human stepped aside to allow Sonic in, quickly closing the door after him and walk-running down a hallway. He knocked on the door at the end before entering. He crossed the stately room to an arm-chair where an elderly human was turning knobs and pressing buttons on some strange device that looked kind of like an over-sized Game Boy.

"Here's your sandwich, Professor, and you have a visitor." said the younger man with a bow. "Sorry it took so long."

"Not a problem, lad. After all, one mustn't rush when preparing food, and as usual you've crafted a splendid culinary concoction of cucumberous deliciousness." said the man, eying the sandwich through two comically large eyebrows. He set his weird gizmo aside and accepted the plate graciously. The machine was emitting a low beeping noise in time with a blinking dot on its screen. The beeping and blinking grew faster as Sonic neared the professor.

"Yo! Prof. Pickle?" Sonic said after a few moments of the human eating his sandwich oblivious to the Mobian's presence. The man looked up at the foot-tapping hedgehog then seemed to suddenly become aware of his device's activity. He actually dropped his sandwich and gaped at Sonic for a moment almost as if he had grown a second head or something.

"My word… How extraordinary…" the professor whispered reverently.

"Yeah, I know." said Sonic ostentatiously. "What's particularly 'extraordinary', though?"

"My boy, you must have quite the tale to tell. You're setting off the T.D.S."

"T.D.S.?"

Yes, my Temporal Distortion Scanner. It's something I've just recently put together to help prove a theory I had about space and time. Unless it's malfunctioning, you're from another time!" The professor said awed. The assistant who hadn't been paying much attention jerked around at this statement. After a small pause, Sonic smirked.

"Well, I'm glad that's out of the way. I wasn't sure if you'd buy it if I just told you so. You mind helping me out?"

Elsewhere, atop a large mountain in the Southern Archipelago that was actually a dormant volcano which would eventually play host to one of Robotnik's many great fortresses, sat the Egg Carrier X. Inside his personal quarters, the doctor rested as he pondered this latest turn of events. His chubby fingers drummed rhythmically upon his massive flabby belly sending grotesque ripples across his flesh as one of his feet bounced up and down in agitation.

_Those miserable little miscreants may have seriously confounded my plans this time._ He thought. _I didn't have time to make sure that the Gate Ring was running at peak efficiency before activating it again with those rats decimating my fighters so quickly. It's entirely possible that one of the millions of pieces essential for bypassing the __Causal Censor malfunctioned, thereby rendering the trip pointless. However, it is also possible that the Gate worked perfectly and I'm free to change the past without consequence._

_Unfortunately, if that's the case, then those wretched rodents are also free to do the same thing. And with them here, I can't afford to activate the recall function to check the Gate. I might end up back at the North Pole, but I might just as easily end up disappearing from all of existence because of something those Mobians do during the time I'm in non-time thus causing me to reemerge into a world I cannot exist in._

_Damn it! This plan is far more trouble than it's worth._ Robotnik rose lethargically from his bed and wobbled back-and-forth across the room while muttering to himself.

"So much effort… How frustrating… I spent years studying how Rings warp time and space… How the energy is channeled through them in infinite loops… How those peculiar Flicky birds harness them to warp to and from their own dimension… How they act upon and react to the Chaos Emeralds… So much time and effort was invested in this plan, and now it's falling apart! Damn it!" He punched the wall as hard as he could, leaving him shaking a stinging hand.

"Why do those filthy flea-bitten Mobians always get in my way!?" he roared. Then an idea struck him. He stroked his pudgy chin as he pondered it out. "The Mobians… They only managed to follow me because they had a Chaos Emerald… And now, though Sonic and the fox escaped, they don't have the Emerald anymore. I do! And, I have the echidna…"

The doctor's famous half-moon grin spread across his face and his body shook as a low chuckle built up and then exploded out in peals of maniacal laughter. He walked to the automated door which opened for him and moved at a sort of half-run down the hall to an elevator. He entered and responded with "Prisoner Area" when an automated voice asked for the destination. A low humming noise came as the elevator made its way down the shaft. Robotnik was putting the final touches to his plan as the ride came to a halt and the doors opened with a light musical "ping" sound. He made his way through the cells till he came upon the one Knuckles was in.

"How are you doing, Knucklehead?" the doctor asked amiably. "What do you think of the cell I made specifically for you?" Inside the cell which was illuminated by a strange red light, Knuckles rose unsteadily from the floor. He wobbled for a moment before shaking his head and charging at the doctor. The echidna lost his footing after only two steps and fell skidding to a halt just short of the bars.

"Tisk, tisk my little friend. Is that any way to greet your master?"

Opening one violet eye, Knuckles did his best to glare at Robotnik, but the strange red light in his cell was making him noxious and dizzy. He slurred out "Youain' muh master, fasso!"

Robotnik grinned maddeningly and raised up a finger, waving it back in forth. "Oh such language, mister Guardian. And here I was bringing you such wonderful news…" He paused for a moment, eyeing the echidna to see if he reacted. Knuckles raised his head slightly, looking faintly curious but mostly annoyed.

"You see," Robotnik said dragging the words out infuriatingly, "I remember quite fondly how we first met, Knuckles. Do you?" The echidna just growled. "Well, as I recall, you once told me that you had been alone for as long as you could remember; couldn't even recall your parents…" Another pause. Knuckles opened both of his eyes and squinted up at the human, clearly curious to know where this was going. The doctor's smile grew even bigger.

"How would you like to see them?"


End file.
